Hunters Bag 69 Bears During Md. Hunt Season
CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) -- Black bear hunting season has ended in Maryland with hunters taking home 69 bears.
The four-day hunt began Monday and ended Thursday. The season was the first with a predetermined end date since a 50-year moratorium on Maryland bear hunting ended in 2004. The length of previous hunts was determined by a quota, with hunters having to check each night on whether the season would continue for another day.
Last year, hunters took home 94 of the animals.
Television station WBOC-TV reports 71-year-old Bonnie Kelley was the first hunter to bag a bear this season. She shot the bear Monday on private land in Garrett County. The heaviest bear shot this season weighed 418 pounds, though the average weight was 143 pounds.
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